Governor General of Canada visits James Smith Cree Nation, offers prayers

Before sharing a meal with the James Smith Cree Nation members Wednesday, the Governor General of Canada laid tobacco pouches at the burial sites of the victims of the mass stabbing that shook the community.

Governor General Mary Simon visited the sites with local leaders including chiefs Wally Burns, Calvin Sanderson and Rob Head from James Smith Cree Nation, Chakastaypasin Band and Peter Chapman Band, respectively.

The mass stabbing on Sept. 4 left nine community members dead in James Smith Cree Nation, about 170 km northeast of Saskatoon, one dead in neighbouring Weldon and 18 injured. The two suspects also died over the following week as police scoured the province for them and took one into custody.

Chief Wally Burns said coming together is critical in healing.

Simon spoke to about 100 students, community members and RCMP officers packed into the school gym on James Smith Cree Nation in the afternoon.

"My heart goes out to all of you," Simon said.

"I can only hope that in the coming days you will be able to rest and go through your grief and get the kind of support that you need for your wellbeing — and I will support you in every way that I can," Simon said.

Then people cheered and clapped as traditional dancers of all ages moved through the gym. 

"My message when I go back [to Ottawa] is that as much as we are supporting the community now, we will need to have ongoing support for the community over the long term because this kind of trauma and grief doesn't go away very easily," Simon later said to reporters.

Simon said the "important" visit gave her a chance to speak with the community and the chiefs to better understand what they are going through.

Her face-to-face conversations with the family members of those who died in the stabbing opened her eyes to the trauma they've been experiencing.

Connecting with the community

"You hear it on the news ... but it's never quite the same if you're not talking face-to-face with people that are being affected by such a horrendous event," Simon said.

"I'm not even part of this community in an integral way and I feel the heaviness and the sadness."

Despite that, she said families still were able to tell funny stories about their loved ones.

Chief Calvin Sanderson of the Chakastaypasin Band of James Smith Cree Nation said it was an honour and privilege to have Simon visit the community and he hopes she'll take some of their requests to ministers in Ottawa.

That includes keeping a long-term peacekeeping force in the community that was brought in for issues like COVID-19 and for a mental wellness institute that could be used as a healing place and to accommodate funerals and wakes instead of using the local school.

Simon said she supports whatever the community needs to deal with the stabbings and noted there's a lack of mental health services for issues such as the residential school legacy in this community and others across Canada.

Sanderson said he's also hoping to receive help that could tackle addictions issues in the community and to get more answers about the stabbing and the police response.

"Our membership are still barricading their doors and they're having their guns out still … [we have to assure] them that they're protected in our community with our own security," he said.

Sanderson said the community is still healing and the traditional ceremonies, including prayers and smudge, are a part of that. 

"Everybody was impacted: I was impacted, my wife was impacted, because we lost loved ones in there, our relatives," Sanderson said, adding he enjoyed quadding and fishing with Earl Burns Sr., one of the deceased.

He's hoping for a healing circle in the community sometime this fall once all the hospitalized members are home.